In search of a gay soccer hero: The Secret Footballer on homophobia | CNN

Contents:

• ROBBIE ROGERS, FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE PROFSNAL ATHLETE US PRO SPORTS, RETIR
• ROBBIE ROGERS: THE AFTERMATH OF A GAY FOOTBALLER G OUT
• ROBBIE ROGERS, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY US PRO FOOTBALLER, ANNOUNC RETIREMENT
• ROBBIE ROGERS: WHY G OUT AS GAY MEANT I HAD TO LEAVE FOOTBALL
• IN SEARCH OF A GAY SOCCER HERO: THE SECRET FOOTBALLER ON HOMOPHOBIA
• U.S. SOCCER STAR ‘ OUT’ AS GAY
• ROBBIE ROGERS EARLY LIFE\NROBERT HAMPTON ROGERS III WAS BORN ON MAY 12, 1987, RANCHO PALOS VERS, CALIFORNIA, U.S. HE WAS BORN TO ROBERT HAMPTON ROGERS II(FATHER) AND THERA ROGERS(MOTHER). ROGER STARTED PLAYG FOOTBALL AT THE AGE OF FOUR AND A HALF.\NAT THE AGE OF SEVEN, ROGERS PLAYED FOOTBALL BOTH THE COAST SOCCER LEAGUE AND SEVERAL HISPANIC LEAGU. ROGERS MA THREE APPEARANC AT THE USL PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE’S FOR ORANGE COUNTY BLUE STAR 2005 AND CID TO ATTEND UNIVERSY THE FALL. \NHE PLAYED ONE SEASON OF LLEGE SOCCER AT THE UNIVERSY OF MARYLAND, ALONGSI JASON GAREY AND HELPED THE TEAM TO W THE 2005 NCAA CHAMPNSHIP. HE SRED SEVEN TIM DURG THE SEASON AT UMD AND ASSISTED FIVE GOALS, EVENTUALLY NAMED ACC ALL-CONFERENCE FRHMAN TEAM AND  SOCCER TEAM OF THE YEAR.\NIN THE SUMMER OF 2006, HEERENVEEN VED  ROGERS TO THE CLUB FOR A THREE- WEEK TRIAL AND THE TRIAL PERD WAS SUCCSFUL, SIGNG TWO YEARS PROFSNAL NTRACT WH DUTCH SI AUGT 2006. ON FEBARY 2007,  HE LEFT HEERENVEEN BY MUTUAL NSENT.\NROBBIE ROGERS CAREER\NAFTER HIS RELEASE, ROGERS RETURNED TO THE USA AND WAS LATER SIGNED BY THE MLS SI COLUMB CREW BEFORE THE 2007 MLS SEASON. ROGERS SRED HIS FIRST GOAL ON JUNE 17, 2007, SRG AN OPENG GOAL THE 3-3 DRAW AGA THE TEAM NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTN. ROGERS SRED 3 TIM HIS TEN APPEARANC FOR THE CLUB HIS FIRST SEASON AND ALSO HELPED HIS TEAM WH ONE ASSIST.\NTHE 2008 SEASON WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH SEASON FOR ROGERS AS A PROFSNAL. HE STARTED THE MPAIGN REGULARLY FOR CREW, SRG HIS FIRST GOAL 4- 3 HOME W OVER CD CHIVAS USA ON 13 APRIL 2008. HE WAS AWARD BY THE MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR GAME WEEK SEVEN.\N CAPTION: ROBBIE ROGERS PLAYG FOR LA GALAXY SOURCE: OUTSPORTS \NREAD: PRENT RELATNSHIP STAT OF BOB HARPER AND HIS GAY BOYIEND ANTON GUTIERREZ\NROGERS PLAYED ALL FOUR MLS CUP GAM WH THE CREW, CLUDG THE FAL, WHERE THEY FEATED NEW YORK RED BULLS 3–1 NOVEMBER 2008 AT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER.\NTHE SEASON WAS SUCCSFUL FOR ROGERS, AS HE WAS NAMED THE MLS BT XI TEAM FOR THE YEAR, AND ALSO PICKED UP SUPPORTERS ' SHIELD AND SILVERWARE FOR THE MLS CUP.\NON 2009, ROGER GOT HIS SEND SUPPORTERS' SHIELD TLE AFTER HIS TEAM FISHED THE FIRST POSN THE OVERALL STANDG, FISHG ONE POT AHEAD OF LOS ANGEL GALAXY.\NHIS LAST MATCH FOR THE CLUB WAS A 1- 0 LOSS WH COLORADO RAPIDS THE WILDRD GAME OF THE MLS CUP ON 28 OCTOBER 2011. HE LED THE TEAM WH ASSISTS DURG HIS LAST SEASON WH THE CLUB AND WAS ALSO AWARD THE \" CREW HARST WORKG PLAYER\" AWARD.\NHE MA 138 APPEARANC DURG HIS FIVE SEASONS ON THE CREW AND SRED 17 TIM. AFTER LEAVG COLUMB CREW, ROGERS WAS STRONGLY LKED TO A MOVE TO THE LEEDS UNED CHAMPNSHIP SI. HE SUBSEQUENTLY JOED LEEDS DECEMBER 2011 FOR AN IAL TWO- WEEK TRIAL PERD BEFORE SIGNG A NTRACT JANUARY 2012.\NHE MA HIS BUT ON 18 FEBARY 2012 AND ME AS A 79TH-MUTE SUBSTUTE FOR DONSTER ROVERS A 3- 2 W. HIS 2011-2012 CHAMPNSHIP SEASON WAS ED BY THE JURI, SUFFERG OM HEAD JURY DURG THE MATCH AGAST DONSTER ROVERS AND ALSO SUFFERED OM ANKLE JURY SOON AFTER REVERG OM HEAD JURY.  LATER ON AUGT 23, ROGER JOED LEAGUE ONE SI STEVENAGE ON LOAN AL UNTIL JANUARY 2013.\NROGER MA HIS BUT FOR THE CLUB AFTER TWO DAYS OF SIGNG, G AS A SUBSTUTE THE CLUBS 1-0 AWAY VICTORY. LATER, HE RETURNED TO LEEDS UNED ON JANUARY 15, 2013.\NWHEN HE RETURNED TO LEEDS, ROGERS LEFT THE CLUB WH MUTUAL NSENT AND WAS AVAILABLE FOR EE TRANSFER. HE MA ONLY FOUR APPEARANC, THREE OF WHICH WERE A SUBSTUTE DURG HIS TIME AT THE CLUB.\NROBBIE ROGERS SALARY AND NET WORTH

ROBBIE ROGERS, FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE PROFSNAL ATHLETE US PRO SPORTS, RETIR

Robbie Rogers, who beme the first openly gay male athlete a major North Amerin profsnal sport, is retirg om, 30, me out while ially announcg his retirement Febary 2013 shortly after beg released by Leeds Uned, beg the first profsnal footballer to do so sce Jt Fashanu Galaxy then signed Rogers jt three months later, wh the USA ternatnal gog on to make 78 MLS appearanc before brgg his playg time to a close on Tuday, havg missed the whole of the 2017 mpaign due to a long-standg foot a statement posted on his social media acunts, Rogers said he had spent much of his reer "nsumed by fear and shame" as he hid his sexualy. After jog LA Galaxy 2013, Robbie Rogers spoke to Geoff Shreev about beg the first openly gay man to pete Major League Soccer. In an terview wh Sky Sports 2013, Rogers revealed he had ma the cisn to e out for his own "sany", and the 18-tim pped USA ternatnal has now urged those fellow gay and bisexual athlet "still ightened to share their tth wh the world" to e out.

"I wish I uld have found the urage that so many young dividuals have shared wh me the past five years to live hontly and openly as a gay person. Footballer Robbie Rogers is one of the most high-profile voic battle for gay rights.

ROBBIE ROGERS: THE AFTERMATH OF A GAY FOOTBALLER G OUT

Former Germany midfielr Thomas Hzlsperger revealed he is gay earlier this week. Footballer Robbie Rogers, who now plays for Los Angel Galaxy, said an terview for CNN’s “World Sport Prents: Journey of a Gay Athlete” documentary.

ROBBIE ROGERS, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY US PRO FOOTBALLER, ANNOUNC RETIREMENT

A lot of gay men and women who aren’t out and don’t really accept that they’re gay, live wh a b of self-hate. Rogers was 25 when he broke the news that he was gay on his blog, havg jt left English send divisn club Leeds. Havg played football throughout his childhood and then at llege, he neverthels stggled emotnally the fiercely mascule arena where words like “homo, ” “fag” or “gay” were monplace.

ROBBIE ROGERS: WHY G OUT AS GAY MEANT I HAD TO LEAVE FOOTBALL

“I always heard homophobic thgs locker rooms, on soccer fields, you know, before trag, after trag, ” said Rogers, who was more or ls nvced he was gay by the age of 13 or 14.

IN SEARCH OF A GAY SOCCER HERO: THE SECRET FOOTBALLER ON HOMOPHOBIA

Sce he me out Febary, Rogers has spent time speakg wh llege stunts and fellow members of the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) muny. The fear of rejectn om their teammat, om fans, probably their fai, fear of the owners of the team might not want a gay athlete.

Thomas Hzlsperger, who won 52 ps for Germany and played England, Italy and Germany, is the most high-profile former player to announce he is gay. “I’ve never been ashamed of beg gay… but I have asked myself the typil qutns that gay people ask themselv: What would my iends say?

U.S. SOCCER STAR ‘ OUT’ AS GAY

Rogers is now one of the most regnizable fac the fight agast homophobia. Where before he may have penned the odd tograph, he now signs thoands and wr articl for highbrow publitns on Rsia’s homosexualy laws.

Hiztlsperger is also keen to promote the issue of gay rights – particularly ahead of the 2014 Wter Olympics at Sochi, Rsia. Rsian law bars the public discsn of gay rights and relatnships anywhere children might hear – and has been nmned by rights groups both at home and abroad as discrimatory.

“I’m g out about my homosexualy bee I want to move the discsn about homosexualy among profsnal sportspeople forwards, ” Hiztlsperger told German newspaper, Die Ziet. The 30-year-old LA Galaxy fenr me out as gay while announcg his ial retirement 2013 after leavg Leeds Uned, although he returned to the game when he signed wh Galaxy jt three months later. His retirement, which after a seri of juri and eight operatns as a profsnal, the most recent beg an ankle jury May, means that there are currently no openly gay men playg US major pro sports.

ROBBIE ROGERS EARLY LIFE\NROBERT HAMPTON ROGERS III WAS BORN ON MAY 12, 1987, RANCHO PALOS VERS, CALIFORNIA, U.S. HE WAS BORN TO ROBERT HAMPTON ROGERS II(FATHER) AND THERA ROGERS(MOTHER). ROGER STARTED PLAYG FOOTBALL AT THE AGE OF FOUR AND A HALF.\NAT THE AGE OF SEVEN, ROGERS PLAYED FOOTBALL BOTH THE COAST SOCCER LEAGUE AND SEVERAL HISPANIC LEAGU. ROGERS MA THREE APPEARANC AT THE USL PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE’S FOR ORANGE COUNTY BLUE STAR 2005 AND CID TO ATTEND UNIVERSY THE FALL. \NHE PLAYED ONE SEASON OF LLEGE SOCCER AT THE UNIVERSY OF MARYLAND, ALONGSI JASON GAREY AND HELPED THE TEAM TO W THE 2005 NCAA CHAMPNSHIP. HE SRED SEVEN TIM DURG THE SEASON AT UMD AND ASSISTED FIVE GOALS, EVENTUALLY NAMED ACC ALL-CONFERENCE FRHMAN TEAM AND  SOCCER TEAM OF THE YEAR.\NIN THE SUMMER OF 2006, HEERENVEEN VED  ROGERS TO THE CLUB FOR A THREE- WEEK TRIAL AND THE TRIAL PERD WAS SUCCSFUL, SIGNG TWO YEARS PROFSNAL NTRACT WH DUTCH SI AUGT 2006. ON FEBARY 2007,  HE LEFT HEERENVEEN BY MUTUAL NSENT.\NROBBIE ROGERS CAREER\NAFTER HIS RELEASE, ROGERS RETURNED TO THE USA AND WAS LATER SIGNED BY THE MLS SI COLUMB CREW BEFORE THE 2007 MLS SEASON. ROGERS SRED HIS FIRST GOAL ON JUNE 17, 2007, SRG AN OPENG GOAL THE 3-3 DRAW AGA THE TEAM NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTN. ROGERS SRED 3 TIM HIS TEN APPEARANC FOR THE CLUB HIS FIRST SEASON AND ALSO HELPED HIS TEAM WH ONE ASSIST.\NTHE 2008 SEASON WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH SEASON FOR ROGERS AS A PROFSNAL. HE STARTED THE MPAIGN REGULARLY FOR CREW, SRG HIS FIRST GOAL 4- 3 HOME W OVER CD CHIVAS USA ON 13 APRIL 2008. HE WAS AWARD BY THE MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR GAME WEEK SEVEN.\N CAPTION: ROBBIE ROGERS PLAYG FOR LA GALAXY SOURCE: OUTSPORTS \NREAD: PRENT RELATNSHIP STAT OF BOB HARPER AND HIS GAY BOYIEND ANTON GUTIERREZ\NROGERS PLAYED ALL FOUR MLS CUP GAM WH THE CREW, CLUDG THE FAL, WHERE THEY FEATED NEW YORK RED BULLS 3–1 NOVEMBER 2008 AT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER.\NTHE SEASON WAS SUCCSFUL FOR ROGERS, AS HE WAS NAMED THE MLS BT XI TEAM FOR THE YEAR, AND ALSO PICKED UP SUPPORTERS ' SHIELD AND SILVERWARE FOR THE MLS CUP.\NON 2009, ROGER GOT HIS SEND SUPPORTERS' SHIELD TLE AFTER HIS TEAM FISHED THE FIRST POSN THE OVERALL STANDG, FISHG ONE POT AHEAD OF LOS ANGEL GALAXY.\NHIS LAST MATCH FOR THE CLUB WAS A 1- 0 LOSS WH COLORADO RAPIDS THE WILDRD GAME OF THE MLS CUP ON 28 OCTOBER 2011. HE LED THE TEAM WH ASSISTS DURG HIS LAST SEASON WH THE CLUB AND WAS ALSO AWARD THE \" CREW HARST WORKG PLAYER\" AWARD.\NHE MA 138 APPEARANC DURG HIS FIVE SEASONS ON THE CREW AND SRED 17 TIM. AFTER LEAVG COLUMB CREW, ROGERS WAS STRONGLY LKED TO A MOVE TO THE LEEDS UNED CHAMPNSHIP SI. HE SUBSEQUENTLY JOED LEEDS DECEMBER 2011 FOR AN IAL TWO- WEEK TRIAL PERD BEFORE SIGNG A NTRACT JANUARY 2012.\NHE MA HIS BUT ON 18 FEBARY 2012 AND ME AS A 79TH-MUTE SUBSTUTE FOR DONSTER ROVERS A 3- 2 W. HIS 2011-2012 CHAMPNSHIP SEASON WAS ED BY THE JURI, SUFFERG OM HEAD JURY DURG THE MATCH AGAST DONSTER ROVERS AND ALSO SUFFERED OM ANKLE JURY SOON AFTER REVERG OM HEAD JURY.  LATER ON AUGT 23, ROGER JOED LEAGUE ONE SI STEVENAGE ON LOAN AL UNTIL JANUARY 2013.\NROGER MA HIS BUT FOR THE CLUB AFTER TWO DAYS OF SIGNG, G AS A SUBSTUTE THE CLUBS 1-0 AWAY VICTORY. LATER, HE RETURNED TO LEEDS UNED ON JANUARY 15, 2013.\NWHEN HE RETURNED TO LEEDS, ROGERS LEFT THE CLUB WH MUTUAL NSENT AND WAS AVAILABLE FOR EE TRANSFER. HE MA ONLY FOUR APPEARANC, THREE OF WHICH WERE A SUBSTUTE DURG HIS TIME AT THE CLUB.\NROBBIE ROGERS SALARY AND NET WORTH

“I wish I uld have found the urage that so many young dividuals have shared wh me the past five years to live hontly and openly as a gay person. LA Galaxy print Chris Kle lled Robbie “an tegral part of our club and our muny” and praised him for “breakg barriers and beg a force for posive change” while beg an out gay athlete.

Last year, Robbie appeared alongsi fellow gay athlete G Kenworthy as a gut star on The Real O’Neals to give teenager Kenny, played by Noah Galv, a pep talk about his sexualy.